Hanseldee and Greteldum Chapter 8

1. Hanseldee and Greteldum Chapter 8 Imran Khan English – 4 9/21/11

2. Types of Writing There are many different forms of writing such as “…novels, stories, plays, poems, songs, operas, films, television, commercials, and possibly a variety of newer or not-yet-invented electronic media we haven’t seen” (Foster, 57). http://twhittenburg1.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/books-clipart.jpg

3. The “Literary Canon” The “Literary Canon” is a “…master list of works that everyone pretends doesn’t exist (the list, not the works) but that we all know matters in some important way” (Foster 58). The literary canon can be a person who is naturally talented at writing or a text with great usage of literary devices. It is considered to be “The list of ‘great writers’ or ‘great works’…” (Foster 58).

4. Literary Borrowing Literary Borrowing is a different way to say allusion. Some people like to borrow some of Shakespeare’s allusions because “…he’s been the golden standard for allusion for four hundred years and still is” (Foster 58). Instead of using older literature, many people use “Kiddie lit” such as The Cat in the Hat and Alice in Wonderland for their “…parallels, analogies, plot structures, references” mainly because it appeals to the younger generation (Foster 59).

5. H&G H&G is an abbreviation Foster uses for “Hansel and Gretel”. Hansel and Gretel “…has more drawing power than any other [book], at least in the late twentieth century…” (Foster 59). “H&G” is alluded to by another book called “The Gingerbread House”. The witch is “…metonymically transformed into the black rags she wears…metonymy is the rhetorical device in which a part is made to stand for the whole…” (Foster 60).

6. Different Purposes Writers can analyze books to find a different moral behind the book. Angela Carter changes classic fairy tales “…to create subversive, feminist revisions. She upends our expectations about the story of Bluebeard, or Puss-in-Boots, or Little Red Riding Hood to make us see the sexism inherent in those stories…” (Foster 60). Angela Carter tries to see the stories from a different point of view in order to find either a hidden meaning or learn about the “…culture that embraced them” (Foster 60). To learn about their culture is to understand when/why people spoke differently or to show how they acted and why.

7. Creating a Story Out of a Story Foster uses the theme of being lost in “H&G” to re-create a story of two lovers that get lost and their only option to survive is a crack house. He uses some elements of “H&G” and includes “…X, Y, and B, but not A, C, and Z” because he is using “…details or patterns, portions of some prior story…to bring out a theme…” (Foster 62). http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/badboo/badboo0905/badboo090500003/4815193-concept-image-of-being-lost--red-letters-spelling-lost.jpg

8. Great Expectations Reference When Mr. Pumblechook says, “‘Swine were the companions of the prodigal’” he is referring to the Bible (Dickens 20). This nostalgia the readers feel is the reason why Foster believes it’s a good idea to imply another’s literature in your own. He tells us about how “…we want strangeness in our stories, but we want familiarity, too” (Foster 63).

9. How Writing and Allusion Affects Life Writing is an important technique to learn in life because it is one form of communication. Also, if you can write like an author, you may be able to persuade the common man. Allusion is used daily, but unconsciously. When people talk about a show they watched on TV and their favorite line, this is a form of allusion. Allusion can make people more sociable and able to emphasize emotions towards a subject. Telling a story about an event that happened can be another form of allusion as well due to the nostalgic feeling obtained through recalling the event.

10. Works Cited • Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. New York: Bantam Dell, 1986. Print. • Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature Like a Professor. New York: Harper-Collins Publishers, Inc., 2003. Print.